Former Missouri All-American Doug Smith works with high school players yesterday during an MU basketball camp at the Hearnes Center fieldhouse. Smith finished his college career with more than 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds.

Doug Smith stood on the sidelines of a makeshift basketball court in the Hearnes Center fieldhouse yesterday morning, only a short walk from the main floor where he once wowed fans throughout some of the best years in Missouri basketball history.

In front of him, a collection of high school-aged kids - too young to remember those glory days - drove up and down the floor, hoisting 3-pointers and diving for loose balls, on the final day of an individual summer camp conducted by MU Coach Mike Anderson and his staff.

Most of them probably didnít know the 6-foot-10 mountain of a man before them was a two-time Big Eight Conference player of the year, a former top-10 NBA draft choice and the only Missouri player to finish his career with more than 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds.

But that didnít matter much to Smith, who seemed to be enjoying himself just the same in his return to Mid-Missouri.

"Iím quite sure theyíll do their research and different things like that," Smith said. "But itís been truly an honor for me to even have an opportunity just to come down and visit with the kids."

Smith happily accepted Andersonís invitation to visit the five-day camp because of the opportunity it presented to show his family around the place that witnessed some of his greatest athletic feats.

A lot has changed for Smith and the MU basketball program since he left Columbia in 1991 and headed to Dallas as the sixth pick in the NBA draft.

For Smith, the past 16 years saw him bounce around the world of professional basketball until his body wouldnít allow it anymore. He spent five seasons in the NBA - four with the Mavericks and another one with the Celtics. He averaged 8.0 points and 4.2 rebounds in a career that never lived up to its initial expectations.

From there, he went on to play in the Continental Basketball Association and the International Basketball League, winning championships during five of six seasons before his back gave out in 2002.

"I actually got injured on a freak accident, just bending over to set the ball on the court, and it popped," Smith said. "Itís one of those things."

Smith, who has had three back surgeries and could be facing a fourth in the coming months, attempted an unsuccessful comeback with the CBAís Great Lakes Storm in 2004, but he had to give it up almost immediately.

Since then, heís been getting on with the rest of his life. He married Mecheko Smith in 2005 and earlier this year earned his bachelorís degree at Siena Heights University near his home in Detroit. His injuries have prevented him from working.

"Iím just a full-time dad," said Smith, who has four children. "I just try to do what I do as a father."

Smith said heíd eventually like to get into coaching basketball, and he drew up a well-schemed inbounds play to free one of his players for a game-winning 3-pointer during a game yesterday.

He hasnít stopped paying attention to the Tigers and the changes - both in personnel and infrastructure - that have occurred in recent seasons. Heís seen some of them up close during visits to Columbia, such as when his jersey was hoisted to the rafters of the Hearnes Center or when the school honored its all-century team in 2006.

"From where it was when I was here, man, it looks great," Smith said of the facilities, including Mizzou Arena, where his retired jersey now hangs. "No offense to Mizzou Arena over there, but it seems like the Hearnes Center has a mystique about it."

Anderson is trying to build that same mystique in Mizzou Arena, a process that goes along with shaping the Tigers into consistent contenders in the Big 12 Conference, the way Smithís teams were in the Big Eight. They made the NCAA Tournament three out of his four seasons. The lone exception came in 1991, when they won the Big Eight Tournament but were barred from participating in the Field of 64 because of NCAA sanctions.

Smith, who hopes to pay a few more visits to Columbia now that heís finished his degree, said he finds it a little hard to believe the program is in the midst of a five-year NCAA Tournament drought.

"If you donít get All-American players that come down to the university, your program tends to take a step back," he said. "The guys here, they played hard and they played together. Unfortunately, they had a few problems with a few kids and different things like that. Most college campuses have those things going on.

"Theyíve had a couple down years, but the coaching staff here will get them headed in the right direction."